The scam: Readers continue to call in reports about scams that could survive a nuclear attack. While many readers may be familiar with the common ''You've Won A Million Dollar'' scam phone callers, this may be new to others. It was to Mary, who told us about a phone scam to which she was subjected last week. The advice bears repeating.

How it works: Mary's caller was ''Omar Goodwin,'' who wanted her to know she had won a large sum of money. Who was Omar Goodwin, and how much did she win? Did it matter? He'd tell you anything he thought you'd want to hear. He just gave her directions that are 100-proof scam. ''Omar'' called from a 876 area code, which is for Jamaica, home to countless telephone thieves. He said he was from something called the ''interclaimant department,'' and needed Mary to cable him money that would pay off fees and taxes of her winnings. After she ended the call, she said he called six or seven more times.

What to do: If you hear from a Jamaican telephone scammer, report the case to the Federal Trade Commission at 877-FTC-HELP or http://www.FTC.gov . Other reminders: If you didn't enter, you didn't win. It's illegal to play foreign lotteries here. Don't wire money to people you don't know. Protect your personal information. You never have to pay fees or taxes to collect winnings in a legitimate lottery or sweepstakes. For any We've Got Your Back newbies out there: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

This scam alert is brought to you by Tim Darragh, who writes the "We've Got Your Back" column Monday-Saturday in The Morning Call.

The Washington Post disclosed this morning that bumbling bureaucrats have given more than $1 billion - yes, that's billion with a B - in stimulus money to contractors with dubious reputations. Think about this the next time you vote.

President Obama and members of Congress told federal agencies earlier this year to avoid awarding funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to contractors with troubled histories of work for the federal government.

But that isn't happening at numerous agencies, a Washington Post analysis shows. So far, 33 federal departments and agencies have awarded more than $1.2 billion in stimulus contracts to at least 30 companies that are ranked by one watchdog group as among the most egregious offenders of state and federal laws.

Government records show that as a group, these contractors have sold defective products, manufactured safety tests, submitted false travel claims and padded contracts with fraudulent fees.

Honeywell International, for example, is defending itself against a Justice Department lawsuit accusing it of selling defective shields for bulletproof vests to the Defense and Homeland Security departments, costing the federal government tens of millions of dollars. But that did not prevent the company from winning $2.9 million in stimulus contracts from the Air Force.

On a larger scale, UT-Battelle, a partnership of the University of Tennessee and Battelle Memorial Institute, has been awarded 43 Recovery Act contracts worth more than $331 million by the Department of Energy for work at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In every instance, competitive bidding rules were waived, but officials said the contracts were largely extensions of competitively bid work that was already underway at the site.

Obama explicitly warned against awarding contracts without competitive bidding in a memo released to agency heads weeks after he signed the act, saying they create "a risk that taxpayer funds will be spent on contracts that are wasteful, inefficient, subject to misuse." (So far, half of the $16 billion awarded under the stimulus has gone to contractors that did not have to compete for the work.)

The administration followed up on Obama's memo Tuesday, instructing agencies to cut contract spending by 7 percent in the next two years and hire at least 5 percent more contracting officers in the next five years to manage the large contracts. Agencies must also cut 10 percent of their "high risk" or non-competitive contracts this fiscal year.

UT-Battelle was cited in 2005 for serious nuclear safety violations at the former Cold War site. And last year, the inspector general cited the company for using $600,000 in federal money for unapproved expenditures on cigars, wine and gifts, including a pen with a built-in USB flash drive, given to guests at a scientific conference. Officials said the firm has resolved past problems and believes the Recovery Act awards were appropriate.

"UT-Battelle has worked with the Department to address any previous concerns that have been raised about the company," Michael Bradley, a UT-Battelle spokesman, said in a statement.

The Project on Government Oversight, a government watchdog group, compiled data on Honeywell, Battelle and other contractors that have had legal or regulatory issues with federal agencies. For its analysis, The Post compared a list of companies receiving stimulus grants with POGO's data and examined reports from the Government Accountability Office, court records from the Justice Department and other public documents.

In an attempt to curtail contract awards to companies with prior problems, Maloney last year authored a law that requires creation of a government database to track past performance.

The database would include civil and criminal actions in which the contractor lost. None of this information, however, would be made publicly available, and government officials would have to only log and check information. Nothing in the law compels them to use it when awarding contracts.

Honeywell and other large government contractors said using such databases to shape decision-making is simplistic. Business relationships, they said, are uneven. "From time to time, as in all commercial relationships, there are misunderstandings or even disputes between parties that are inevitably resolved," said Honeywell spokesman Peter Dalpe.

Government contract officials said many factors must be considered when awarding work, including a company's expertise. Concerns over federal contracts are acute now because even before the stimulus bill passed, taxpayers in 2008 financed $500 billion in such work, a doubling of the amount spent in 2001.

That figure is expected to climb to at least $525 billion for 2009, and oversight of those dollars will heavily rely on whistleblower reports. With Recovery Act contracts in particular, the public is asked to report any abuse of funds by calling a hotline or filling out an anonymous online form.

Whistleblowers said that for the hotline to work, contractors need to feel a sharper sting when they are caught.

Judith Neal called a hotline and exposed Honeywell for fabricating tests on at least $7 million in ammunition it manufactured and sold in 1987, according to a court finding. She's watched as similar incidents have continued for two decades.

At the time, both Neal, who worked in the company's personnel department, and the Justice Department prevailed in court against Honeywell. However, the federal government secured $2 million from the company and $400,000 in ammunition, not even half the value of the faulty ammunition, records show. Such disparities in cost recoveries continue and are common.

"It is not punitive at all," said Neal, now director of the Tyson Center for Faith and Spirituality in the Workplace at the University of Arkansas. "When you talk about repeat offenders, there are too many profits involved to stop them from doing it again. They just get their hands slapped."

The agency would be charged with protecting consumers from questionable credit cards offers, bank loans and other financial offerings. Here's a statement from PA Rep. Paul Kanjorski, a member of the committee.

As you'd expect, the American Bankers Association expressed its displeasure with the House committee vote, and the Consumer Federation of America lauded it. Here's more from the Associated Press:

Democrats are hailing the 39-29 vote as a win for the average American. It is a major step forward in enacting President Barack Obama's plan to tighten the rules governing Wall Street, although the measure still faces scrutiny by the full House and Senate.

The legislation has been the target of an aggressive multimillion-dollar lobbying campaign by the financial industry, which contends that the agency would have dangerously broad reach.

Thursday's vote indicates that Democrats were willing to shrug off those concerns and are likely to pass the bill on the floor by the end of the year.

President Barack Obama said the vote "sends an important signal to the American people that we will not stand by and allow big financial firms and their lobbyists to mobilize against change."

Also on Thursday, the committee was set to approve legislation that would impose new rules for credit cards on Dec. 1. A similar bill already passed Congress but won't take effect until mid-February.

Democrats have said the proposed ConsumerFinancialProtectionAgency would help to reach across various businesses to stop fraud and abusive practices. That regulators didn't monitor nonbank institutions like mortgage brokers was considered a major factor in subprime lending abuses that led to the housing market crash.

But there is plenty of fine print that will limit the new agency's scope.

Banks that help those businesses complete financial transactions would still fall under the agency's purview. For example, a bank that issues a store-brand credit card or provides auto financing would be subject to agency rules.

Rep. Gwen Moore, a Democrat from Wisconsin with a major private mortgage insurer in her district, on Wednesday pushed though another exemption for credit, mortgage and title insurers.

Rep. Barney Frank, who chairs the panel, said exceptions were being made to clarify that the agency will monitor financial products and not every financial transaction made by the American public. But he scoffed at several Republican proposals, including one by Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga. that would have exempted student loan providers. Frank charged that those provisions were aimed at gutting the bill.

Highlights of legislation approved by the House Financial Services Committee to create a ConsumerFinancialProtectionAgency, or CFPA:

— The agency would oversee such common financial products as mortgages, credit cards, payday loans and terms on savings accounts.

— It would be in charge of implementing a law passed by Congress this spring that protectsconsumers from sudden interest rate increases on unpaid credit card balances.

— Most banks and credit unions, already monitored by other regulators for "safety and soundness," would be spared from agency examinations. Only banks with more than $10 billion in assets would need to open their books to CFPA officials.

— Several industries would be exempt from CFPA oversight, including retailers, auto dealers, lawyers and accountants. Gift cards would not be monitored by the agency. Lawmakers said the goal was to regulate financial products, not all financial transactions.

— While retailers would be exempt, financial institutions tied to them would not. For example, the bank that offers a store-brand credit card or the institution that provides financing through an auto dealer would still be subject to agency rules.

— The bill does not include a mandate proposed by the Obama administration that banks offer standardized, "plain vanilla" products such as a 30-year fixed mortgage, as the administration wanted.

— The bill also eliminated an administration proposal to require that banks take reasonable steps to ensure customers understand what they were buying. Democrats said the measure would be too hard to enforce.

The latest lame scam forwarded by The Morning Call's Tim Darragh, who picks the best of the worst for his "We've Got Your Back" column. This one is so bad it's obvious, but if people didn't fall for them, scams like this wouldn't still be circulating.

Forgive my indignation if this message comes to you as a surprise and may offend your personality for contacting you without your prior consent and writing through this channel.I got your contact from the proffesional data base found in the internet Yahoo tourist search.When i was searching for a foreign reliable partner.I assured of your capability and reliability to champion this business opportunity. I am (Louis Momo) the Head of file Department in African development bank (ADB). Ouagadougou Burkina-Faso West Africa.

In my department we discovered an abandoned sum of $15 million U.S.A dollars ( fifteen million U.S.A dollars).In an account that belongs to one of our foreign customer who died along with his entire family on (Monday 31st July 2000) in a plane crash.Since we got information about his death,we have been expecting his next of kin to come over and claim his money because we cannot release it unless somebody apply for it as next of kin or relation to the deceased as indicated in our banking guidelines,but unfortunately i learnt that all his supposed next of kin or relation died along side with him at the plane crash leaving nobody behind for the claim.It is therefore upon this discovery that I now decided to make this business proposal to you and release the money to you as the next of kin or relation to the deceased for safety and subsequent disbursement since nobody is coming for it and we don’t want this money to go into the bank treasury as unclaimed bill.

The Banking law and guideline here stipulates that if such money remained unclaimed after ten years,the money will be transferred into the Bank treasury as unclaimed fund.The request of foreigner as next of kin in this business is occasioned by the fact that the customer was a foreigner, and a Burkinabe cannot stand as next of kin to a foreigner.We agree that 40% of this money will be for you as foreign partner,in respect to the provision of a foreign account and 60% would be for me and my woman colleague.That means ($6 million) six million dollars for you and ($9 million) nine million dollars for me and my partner.There after i will visit your country for disbursement according to the percentages indicated.

Therefore to enable the immediate transfer of this fund to you as arranged,you must apply first to the bank as relations or next of kin of the deceased indicating your bank name,your bank account number,your private telephone and fax number for easy and effective communication and location where the money will be remitted.Upon receipt of your reply,I will send to you by fax or email the text of the application I will not fail to bring to your notice that this transaction is hitch free and that you should not entertain any atom of fear as all required arrangements have been made for the transfer.

I am awaiting for your immediate response as you receive this mail.Extend my sincere greetings to your entire family and bye for now.

Your’s faithfully,

Louis MomoFROM (ADB) OUAGADOUGOU BURKINA-FASO. (FILL THIS FORM BELLOW PLEASE AND RESEND IT TO ME).1) Your Full Name......................................2) Your Age...............................................3) Marital Status.........................................4) Your Cell Phone Number.......................5) Your Fax Number.................................6) Your Country.........................................7) Your Occupation....................................8) Sex........................................................9) Your Religion........................................10) Your Private E-mail Address..................POST SCRITUM: You have to keep everything secret as to enable the transfer to move very smoothly in to the account you will prove to the bank.

Never take a medicinal product without consulting with your doctor. And don't order products off the Internet from unknown sources. You never know what they contain. The FDA found some products that were billed as containing swine flu drugs didn't.

If you've run across a product that boasts it can cure or prevent swine flu, you can report it to the FDA, and it will check it out.

The scam: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently issued an alert for a convincing scam that could put many computer users and businesses at risk. The warning reminds everyone who spends any time online to be knowledgeable about the warning signs of scams and what to do if you come across them.

How it works: According to the department, malicious code is circulating via spam e-mail messages related to the Internal Revenue Service. DHS says the unsolicited messages may contain the subject line, ''Notice of Underreported Income.'' These messages may contain a link or attachment, it says. If users click on the link or open the attachment, they may be infected with malicious code, including the Zeus Trojan, DHS says. Other online reports indicate the Zeus virus was being spread by more than 130 domain addresses as of a few weeks ago.

What to do: First of all, remember that neither the IRS nor any other federal agency would ever send you unsolicited messages about your property or taxes via e-mail. Also remember to never follow unsolicited Web links or attachments in e-mail messages, DHS says. Keep your anti-virus software up to date.

If you want to report a scam, contact gotyourback@mcall.com or call 610-820-6590. We've Got Your Back is on Facebook. Search under ''pages.''

If anyone locally had financial problems because of the meltdown a few weeks ago at TD Bank, I'd like to hear from you. If you don't know what I'm talking about, when the bank tweaked its operating system over the weekend of Sept. 25-27, there were delays in updating account balances, a blackout on online banking and long waits to get through on the phone.

The bank says your money is safe, and you won't be liable for any fees you were charged because of problems on its end. But I want to hear how this affected you. Were you cashless for the weekend? Did your checks bounce? Were you hit with late fees or overdraft fees?

Military veterans stuck in the VA's massive backlog, or unsure of how to even start filing for benefits, can get free advice Thursday (Oct. 15) in Allentown. Lehigh County's director of veterans affairs, Tom Dye, will provide information from 6 to 7 p.m. in the public hearing room on the first floor of the Lehigh County Government Center, 17 S. 7th St. Representatives from the Scranton Vet Center will be on hand, too.

I told you in August about the new law limiting the ability of banks to raise interest rates on credit cards, provide customers with more time to pay credit card bills, and otherwise play fair with consumers.

Most of those requirements were scheduled to start in February. Now, there's a move to enact them in December. Some lawmakers are concerned banks are using the lead time they were given to make those changes to instead take one last shot at consumers, raising rates, reducing credit limits and otherwise squeezing them because their hands may be tied in the near future.